Wednesday, January 11, 2006

How about a nice friendly game of flag football? I know. You’re thinking, “I haven’t played flag football since Phys. Ed. in 6th grade. That sounds like a blast!”In order to get more people to participate, we are changing tradition a little bit for our 12th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Bowl. We would normally play tackle, but since we are all really old now, we decided to save our next hospital visit for another day.Here is the text of the flyer:-start flyer-MLK Bowl FestivalA Tribute to Friendship, Fun & FootballMore Deecenox! More Camaraderie! More Action! Everything but a stupid parade!Schedule of EventsSaturday, January 14th 20064:00-7:00pm Gather in Columbia: Location TBD7:00-10:00pm Chillfest ‘06. NFL playoff game. Poker night? Tecmo rematches! Plenty of guitars…10:00-1:30am A night to remember on The Scene.

The Game:Two-Hand Touch (or flag if we can work out the technology)On the legendary Field of Dreams!

You are strongly encouraged to bring:*Dark and light shirts/jerseys*Cleats*Mouthpiece-end flyer-

FAQ:Where is The Field of Dreams?The Field of Dreams is the Mizzou football practice field located east of University Hall and north of the Women’s Soccer field. You can see the goalposts from Stadium Blvd. as you drive east from Providence to Carrie Francke Drive (the street you turn south on to go to the golf course). You will want to park in the lot surrounding University Hall on Carrie Francke Drive. See map here.Who can play?Anyone who wants to have fun can play. Remember it’s a friendly game of flag football. If you do not want to play, you are certainly welcome to participate in any of the other festivities associated with the MLK Bowl Festival.We are also looking for some photographers/video camera operators to document the fun.What do we use for flags in this flag football game?Tube socks.

What should I bring besides a light colored jersey, a dark colored jersey, cleats and a mouthpiece (optional)?Some suggestions: Water or sport beverage; a camera for team/action photos; a towel; cones or pylons for field markings; 2 old tube socks for flags.

Who do I contact if I have questions?You may contact the operator of this blog via email, or if you have it, dial my cellie.Hope to see you there!

Monday, January 09, 2006

James Frey, the author of the Oprah-endorsed memoir, "A Million Little Pieces" has been exposed by The Smoking Gun as a big fat liar.i have been looking for an excuse to not finish this book. i didn't care for it much to start with, but now that i have learned that most of it is B.S., why bother? i don't care for people who lie, especially ones who lie for mass profit. i reckon i could read it as a work of fiction, but the book would have a distinctly foul flavor to it now. i would rather move on to the next book on my list in the hopes that it isn't full of crap, too.Everyone that i know who read "A Million Little Pieces" raved about it, so i thought i'd give it a go. i hoped i'd be able to relate to some of his experiences going through rehab, and dealing with life afterwards. i was intrigued further when he wrote that he had the same creepy reservations about A.A. that i have, and that he, like me, manages to stay sober without the aid of some cult-like, quasi-religious, dogmatic bunch of over-sensitive whiners. Frey's notion of "hold on" when confronted with temptation is similar to my approach to sobriety, so i gotta give him props for that.But as The Smoking Gun points out with extensive research, fact checks, and interviews with the author himself, he has pretty much taken us all for a ride. Good for him, i hope he enjoys his ill-gotten millions and he can just say "hold on" whenever guilt tempts his conscience.i can't wait to hear what Oprah has to say about this. Maybe for his next appearance she and Dr. Phil can team up and encourage him to give some of his cash to someone (or some organization) more deserving. Or maybe Oprah will take him to task for "keeping" her "awake at night" for no reason.Frey notes in his book (this part is true) that many addicts exchange one addiction for another. Apparently, he has exchanged the costly addiction of alcohol, crack, and inhalants with a highly profitable addiction to fabrications, exaggerations, and embellishments. And sadly, the American public is all too eager to shell out mass monies for the next lurid story of personal triumph over tragedy, however fictionated.That being said, i want my money back. I spent $28 on two paperback editions of "Pieces." i still have one copy, the other i donated to my place of employment, thinking maybe someone here could learn from it, relate to it, or be inspired by it. i suppose its efficacy would not be entirely lost, if those who read it don't know that its full of crap, so i guess i just want $14 back, Mr. Frey (if that is you're real name), please and thank you.Read the whole article about Frey's "fiction addiction" here.